The highly fragmented vendor landscape of the global recycled metal market features intense competition, a rather low degree of profitability, and high exit barriers owing to the high initial investment required to set up a new recycling facility, observes Transparency Market Research in a recent report. The report states that the top three vendors in the market, namely OmniSource Corporation, European Recycled Metal, and Sims Metal Management Ltd., collectively accounted for a mere 14.5% of the market in 2015, with small- and medium-sized regional and domestic vendors holding a massive 78.6%.

In addition to intense competition and high exit barriers, the entry of new companies in the market is also highly challenging owing to the same factors. The high investment required at the time of setting up new recycling facilities, for setting up ties with suppliers of raw materials, and for installing complex machineries is expected to keep the threat of new entrants low in the market.

Transparency Market Research estimates that the global recycled metal market will exhibit a 4.1% CAGR from 2016 to 2024, rising from a valuation of US$312.9 bn in 2016 to US$476.2 bn by 2024.

Ferrous Metal to Account for Massive Chunk in Revenue of Overall Market

In terms of product, recycled ferrous metals accounted for a massive 89.0% of the global recycled metal market. Ferrous metals such as cast iron, wrought iron, and iron alloys such as carbon steel, mild steel, and stainless steel are extensively used across a number of applications in the manufacture of construction materials, electrical devices, vehicles, equipment, and industrial machineries. Much of the scrap obtained from sources such as discarded electronics, electrical components, end of life vehicles, and rejected machineries constitutes ferrous metals. As a result, the ferrous metals segment is expected to continue to account for a massive chunk of the market over the forecast period as well.

In terms of geography, the Asia Pacific recycled metal market is the leading contributor to the revenue of the global market and the leading producer of recycled metals in terms of volume. The region accounted for a nearly 45% of the global recycled metal market in 2015 and is expected to remain the leading regional market for recycled metals in the next few years as well, chiefly owing to the high population base and a strong industrial sector.

The increased focus of several industries and companies operating therein on environmental sustainability of internal operations and processes is one of the key factors to have significantly driven the market for recycled metal in the past few years. Attempts to lower the environmental footprint and curb the emission of greenhouse gases have compelled companies and industries to shift to eco-friendly, recycled, and recyclable raw materials. Using recycled raw materials, especially when it comes to metals, is highly energy- and cost-effective as compared to the primary production from metal ores, the latter of which entails a long-winding and environmentally taxing extraction and purification process.

Although the production of metals from recycling involves fewer metallurgical steps compared to the conventional process of extraction from metal ores, the complex process of selection and collection of recyclable scrap is a big challenge for the market. While the presence of multiple metals in the scrap collected for recycling could affect the purity of the desired metal, the impurities contained in the recycled metal are also difficult to remove. Moreover, the lack of consumer awareness regarding the pressing need for metal recycling as a way of ensuring environmental sustenance coupled with the lack of metal recycling and collecting infrastructure in certain regions are also restraining market growth.

For the study, the global recycled metal market has been segmented as follows:

Recycled Metal Market – Product Segment Analysis

Ferrous

Non-ferrous

Others (Including Precious Metals, etc.)

Recycled Metal Market – End-user Analysis

Building & Construction

Automotive

Electrical & Electronics

Shipbuilding

Industrial Machinery

Others (Including Household Appliances, etc.)

Recycled Metal Market – Regional Analysis

North America

U.S.

Rest of North America

Europe

Germany

France

U.K.

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

ASEAN

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa

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